Todmorden resident furious after £90 trip to the doctors

Elizabeth Archer

A resident in Todmorden is outraged after a trip to the doctors cost her a whopping £90.

Patricia Cope, 68, was driving her husband Gary to the health centre when she unwittingly parked in the Lidl carpark and incurred a £90 fine.

To add insult to injury, the parking notice said the fine would be reduced to £50 if the couple paid before September 10 - an impossible feat since the ticket was issued on that date.

Mrs Cope said: “I was absolutely furious! Especially since it would have been impossible to pay the lower fee.”

Mr and Mrs Cope were attending an all-day course at the health centre that morning because Gary had recently been diagnosed with diabetes.

When they returned to their car, in the car park section nearest to the health centre, a notice was attached to their windscreen saying they had outstayed their 90 minutes’ free parking time.

Although there is a sign warning people not to outstay their welcome, Mrs Cope said she was unable to see it.

“The sign is at an absolutely ridiculous height and if there’s a van in the car park it’s impossible to know its there.”

The car parking attendant who was on duty at the time said the sign had been placed high up so van drivers were able to see it. He did not say why there was not a separate sign for shoppers in cars, said Mrs Cope.

Mrs Cope said: “Surely the majority of people doing their weekly shop will be driving cars and not vans. It doesn’t make any sense!”

Euro Car Parks, who manage the site on Lidl’s behalf, were not available for comment at the time of going to print.